Beschreibung:

Property from the Workman Collection
Dickens, Charles  Master Humphrey's Clock. London: Chapman and Hall, April 1840 - December 1841
88 parts, large 8vo (265 x 175 mm). Wood-engraved illustrations by G. Cattermole and H.K. Browne, with front matter (title, preface and frontispiece) to parts 26, 52 and 88, the "Address to the Readers ..." in parts 9, 80-83, and 87; a few tray spots and closed marginal tears. Original white pictorial wrappers; instances of minor browning and spotting, some spines repaired. Overall, an exceptionally good set. Housed in custom drop-back case. 
First edition, in original weekly parts. 
"Of the four issues the weekly one is difficult to obtain in a clean condition, and is therefore the costliest" (Eckel). Master Humphrey's Clock was one of the first works in which Dickens introduced weekly issues. In a letter he outlined his plans "to write amusing essays on the various foibles of the day as they arise; to take advantage of passing events; and to vary the form of the papers by throwing them into sketches, letters from imaginary correspondents, and so forth, so as to diversify the contents as much as possible." The publication was announced via advertisement in the Examiner, which read that "Master Humphrey's Clock" would strike one on April 4th. Master Humphrey's Clock includes the two novels The Old Curiosity Shop and Barnaby Rudge.
A handsome set. 
REFERENCE:Eckel 61-65; Hatton and Cleaver 163-182